General

A grotesque humanitarian disaster looms large as the conflagration and mayhem ravages the Middle East. The number of people fleeing the civil war just in Syria has now surpassed four million, according to the UN refugee agency. "This is the biggest refugee population from a single conflict in a generation. It is a population that needs the support of the world but is instead living in dire conditions and sinking deeper into poverty," said UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres.

Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis are fleeing their homes in search of safer areas, but as the country runs out of food and basic goods, death stalks the country. This war which has killed and wounded thousands is also bringing out the contradictions in the Middle East as Saudi Arabia finds itself increasingly isolated.

Since early Thursday morning hundreds of fighter jets from Saudi Arabia and a wide coalition of Arab states have been bombing targets across Yemen, killing dozens, destroying all major runways and much of the key infrastructure of the country. Yet again Yemen, which is the poorest Arab country, has become a target for savage attacks by the Saudi regime.

On Tuesday March 10, hundreds of migrant construction workers went on a brief illegal strike at the Fountain Views construction site in Dubai. This strike shows how the explosive contradictions of worsening life and working conditions facing migrant workers in the Gulf are reaching a point where repression and blackmail are not enough to hold workers down.

As a new spree of terrorist attacks unravels with increasing frequency, the menace of Islamic fundamentalist terror seems to be beyond the control of the ruling elite, their state and their system. The haughty claims of the moneyed political elite, of uniting against “terrorism” and for “national unity” have proved to be boastful absurdities and hypocritical deceptions.